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"The fleet narrative never has any dead spots and boasts a clever range of aliens of all shapes, sizes, and appendages. It also has just the right balance of tongue-in-cheek (when a life form happens to have a tongue or a cheek) and serious elements when it comes to pondering moral issues and dilemmas." - Kirkus Reviews They have been watching… Because of him, they are coming… Jett Joseph Javelin Junior is enjoying the eighth grade until his scientific tinkering goes dangerously wrong and attracts the attention of The Fold, an extraterrestrial force, tasked with keeping peace in the galaxy. When The Fold comes to collect him, Jett's life is thrown into disarray. From alien abduction, to life in Tower 100, to becoming a castaway on Lanedaar 3 and savior to the Boonans, to flooding the White House with living alien pom-poms that eat everything in sight, Jett’s adventure to save Earth from The Neutralization Protocol and integrate it into The Fold is fraught with peril and will keep you guessing all the way to the end. "The difference between a one-dimensional, predictable sci-fi read for young adults and one which is a standout in its genre often lies in a combination of author approach and fresh, original details; and the father-son team of Evan & Scott Gordon succeed in going where few writers (much less family authors) have gone before. Rich in characterization, plot, development, and humor, the story unfolds as a winner and is highly recommended not just for the young adult audience it's intended for; but for many an adult sci-fi fan looking for the truly remarkable standout read that includes thought-provoking reflections on the nature of peace, collective consciousness, and ruling systems." - California Bookwatch

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The premise is simple enough. Jett invents a quantum transporter that draws the attention of the Fold, an inter-galactic group that monitors civilizations and "neutralizes" planets that are poised for inter-stellar travel but aren't "morally advanced" enough to handle it. This is not at all a new concept. But, the authors handle it about as well as it can be done.

First, the action/adventure is handled superbly. We have an appealing, bright, well-intentioned, and only slightly sarcastic eight grader who carries the burden of being the book's hero lightly and well. As part of his tale we have him being kidnapped by the Fold, escaping, hooking up with a hilariously deadpan partner, traveling the galaxy, and then returning home to warn Earth. This part of the book is loaded with funny lines, clever set scenes, compelling supporting characters, and suspense, all recounted with energy and a sprightly pace. The humor is neither ironic nor edgy, and so we get a sort of mellowed out middle grade "Hitchhiker's Guide..." kind of vibe. Great.

But second, we get the whole "Earth must be neutralized because of its wicked ways" story line. The Fold follows the "Ten Laws", which is of course the "Ten Commandments". In fact, the Fold actually handed the original Ten Commandments to Moses, and there's a lot of tsk-tsking about how poorly we've followed them. This sort of storyline torpedoes most books that try to go this way. Either those books go for a slapstick White House in disarray scene, or a military defiance scene, or a lot of heavy-handed, preachy speechifying, with or without explicit Christian references. This book tiptoes around that. The Jett-at-the-White-House scenes are brief. We never go near a military-space-opera thread. We get some speechifying - Jett defends Earth in some sort of Fold assembly - but it's not ham handed. The assembly scenes are actually fairly thought provoking, and the authors don't shy from the fact that the Fold is pretty patronizing, self-satisfied, and rather uppity in a moral superiority fashion for a group that goes around wiping out entire planets.

The upshot of all this is that you have two books mixed together; it's written almost in alternating chapters. The action/adventure/humor is absolutely top drawer - well written, and with imagination to burn. As to the preaching, well, if you don't ever like any of that, this book may be too much. If you like a little moral dilemma with your sci-fi, (say, questions about who gets to play god, and the difference between wrong and bad and evil, and really any of the paradoxes and problems with the Ten Commandments), then this book could be just right. Reflecting on this I thought about some of the great moral and ethical issues addressed by the great writers of the Sc-fi Golden Age, and decided it might be a good idea to inject a little more of that into today's sci-fi. But that's just me and you're you.

In any event, this is an entertaining book with surprising substance, and is worth a close look. (Please note that I found this book a while ago while browsing Amazon Kindle freebies. It is currently a kindleunlimited choice. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Do not think that this is thinly-veiled Christian literature. I've got nothing against Christian literature at all, but if Christian-lit is not your cup of tea, you might put this book down initially, as it may seem it's simplistically referring to the Ten Commandments. Keep reading! This IS a very spiritual book, but not specifically-Christian. It's a fast-paced YA book that kids who love aliens and action are going to thoroughly enjoy, but the moral dilemmas it wrangles with are spiritual in nature. Do 'nice' beings who are attempting to keep order across universes really get to play God? Does someone's 'bad' action make them evil, and therefore beyond redemption? These are some of the themes woven in and out of this fast-paced book. It will almost certainly provide fodder for discussion around your house. You can sneak in conversations on ethics by just reading this book to your kid out loud. I hope the authors write a sequel!

This book was one of the best books I have ever read. Jett is such a great character that embodies the whole concept of the unlikely hero. The introduction of a new character, Cyd, was a very good choice by the author. She reminds me of Annabeth from the Percy Jackson series. Loved the book, and I can't wait for the final book in the trilogy. Also, great cliffhanger at the end. You'll have to read to find out what it is...

Because the primary author is a middle schooler himself, I think this book does a particularly good job of combining Jett's unvarnished freshness with philosophical and religious themes that many adults as well as young adults will enjoy, I loved the way the book moves from action packed adventure with unique alien characters to interesting perspectives on the foibles of the human race.

The best testament to my pleasure in this book is how much I am already looking forward to Part II. I am sure that Jett will be even more intriguing as an older adolescent in Part II. Given the foreshadowing of what lies ahead, I suspect that Jett will need all the additional brain and emotional resources that he can get!